


Jameson

by gossamer_gaze



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuddling, Heavy Petting, M/M, Making Out, Sad with a Happy Ending, angry auston (for a hot second), drunk Mitch, just slightly smutty, mature language, sad mitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:28:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23153491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gossamer_gaze/pseuds/gossamer_gaze
Summary: Mitch has a crap day. So he tries to fix it with alcohol.
Relationships: Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews
Comments: 4
Kudos: 64





	Jameson

**Author's Note:**

> ATTN: If you are any of these characters named or know of them personally, please click away. That would be greatly appreciated. Also, I do not own these characters or their names or anything related to them. This is just a work of fiction.
> 
> hi guys, back again with my second fic. this one ended up being a lot different than how i intended but i loved it none the less. it's inspired by the song 'jameson' by lake street dive so i recommend that you listen to it while reading it. also this was only ever looked over by me so im really sorry for any errors or inconsistencies!!
> 
> anyways, this one definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone so any and all feedback is appreciated!!
> 
> happy reading :D

Because their usual club was packed, the team found a quieter bar on the outskirts of DC. It was an old, historic-looking place with lots of dark wood washed in a soft amber glow coming from the lights along the walls. A single bar with a few barstools stood on one side of the bar with a few small, red velvet booths on the other. The walls were covered with historical photos documenting the history of the city. It wasn’t their usual type of place but, they weren’t too in the mood to celebrate after an ass-kicking from the Caps. It was raining out, adding to the whole sort of gloomy, yet cozy ambiance of the place.

Mitch was perched on one of the barstools, swirling a glass of some kind of drink Freddie bought him. It was slowly getting warm in his hands. He wasn’t drunk enough for this. 

First, he practically lost the game for them with some stupid play where it felt like he literally forgot how to play hockey. Then, he dropped his new coat in a puddle while leaving the locker room. And now, Auston had found some girl at the bar. This was supposed to be their night. Auston was gonna console him after the game, let him get a little too drunk and just listen to him complain about every little thing he could possibly think of. That was their routine. That was always their routine after a game like this. Now, he decided that tonight, out of all possible nights, he was gonna try to get some. And, of course, she was exactly his type too, long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. They were curled up in a dark, quiet corner booth. You could only really tell they were there because of her _obviously_ box dyed blonde hair reflecting the light from the sconce overhead. It was the perfect place for all sorts of things that Mitch did not want to think about going on to go on.

To erase that thought, he slammed his drink back, quickly deciding that he needed another one and _ fast _ if he was going to make it through the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Heyyyy, Freddie, can ya get me another drink pleasee?” Mitch gave Freddie some puppy dog eyes in hopes of winning him over. He really hadn’t realized how drunk he was already because he had been sitting for most of the night. He thought he may have been on his fourth or fifth drink but, he’d kinda lost count. He had noticed that his words had started to slur since he last glanced over and caught Auston and his new girl “canoodling” in the corner. Well, it was a little more than canoodling but Mitch wanted to forget that detail. 

“Mitch, you already asked me five minutes ago. I said I’m cutting you off. You’re starting to look rough, bud. Wanna make sure you get back home safe,” Freddie gave him a small smile but had a look of genuine concern in his eyes. Typical Freddie, always looking out for everyone. Mitch dramatically rolled his eyes and stumbled off his barstool. If Freddie wasn’t going to get him one, he was going to find someone who would. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Willyyyy my man!” Mitch slung his arm over Willy’s shoulder and leaned in close, interrupting a conversation between him and Mo. “Wanna do some.. Shots?” He shot him a wide side smile.

“Nah man, it’s getting too late for that. We got an early flight, remember?”

“Oh yeah… Well, will you at least give me a teensy weensy sip of whateva you got there?”

“Sure, whatever…” Willy handed him his glass, still over half full. Mitch took a sip.

“Holy shit dude! Whatcha got in there? It’s fuckin great.”

“Jameson.”

“Can you or Mo order me one?”

“Will you leave us alone if we do?”

“Absolutely.” Mitch crossed his heart and gave a scouts honor.

“Fine, but that’s it. Seriously. If Coach finds out about this in any form, I’m never buying you a drink again. And go find a quiet corner to drink this in. Please. You are getting too loud for this kind of place.” 

Willy continued with his speech but Mitch wasn’t listening, just watching the amber liquid being poured into the glass. It shined like liquid gold in the dim lighting, kinda like the gold in Auston’s eyes after he quieted down from a laugh. It reminded Mitch of one type of laugh in particular. They often shared it while spending a nice summer evening out on Mitch’s balcony after a long, beginning of the season practice. They’d sit out on the couch, just talking for hours, inching closer with each passing topic. Mitch would always almost end up in Auston’s arms, just enough distance for it to still seem platonic. There would be these.. moments, where the sun was setting, they would be laughing, a warm breeze would roll in. It all just seemed right. He was sure it was gonna happen. Auston would look down at him with a deep sigh and a look of love, those usually dark eyes shining with the sun, golden flakes reflecting in a field of rich soil. And it looked like he was going to kiss him. Mitch was sure of it.

But, that kiss never came.

Tears were welling in his eyes, making his already blurry vision even blurrier, as he was interrupted by a loud voice. “Earth to Mitch. Take your drink dude. And please go find a spot to sit. You’re kinda really out of it. Are you sure you’re okay?” Willy and Mo shared the same look that Freddie had earlier. 

Mitch shook his head and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “Yeah. I’m allllll good.” He forced a smile. His eyes really couldn’t really hide how he felt though.

“Alright, well if you need me or Mo, we’ll be over here. You got it?”

“Yep,” Mitch grabbed his drink and turned to look at the room to find a spot, avoiding that far corner and those brown eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He finally settled on a barstool that was at the end of the bar up against the wall. It was a quiet corner. In any other case, it may have been relaxing but, it was directly across the room from Auston. If he made any attempt to look over, it would be obvious. 

She was whispering in his ear now, leaning back every so often to giggle. Both of them looked a little tipsy at this point. Their rosy cheeks a reminder of where Mitch should be right now. It should be him and Auston in that booth. Not this random chick who, in his humble opinion, was nowhere near as cute, as funny, or as charming as he was. And this night was getting even shitter because he had just finished his drink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He must’ve been staring because Auston was staring back, dark eyes hitting him like a laser. Mitch could feel his already red cheeks warm up even more and the room now was starting to spin. He couldn’t really tell if it was from the alcohol or Auston’s stare, but he kind of hated it and he suddenly felt like he had to puke. _ Maybe a little trip to the bathroom would help? _ He tried to convince himself. Mitch lurched forward, out of his stool. He grabbed onto the edge of the bar for stability. He was determined to make it. The bathroom wasn’t too far, just across the bar, but the pesky thing kept wavering in and out of view. There was black around the edges of his vision as he passed Auston’s table. The spinning was uncontrollable now. He lost his grip on the edge of the bar and let himself go, barrelling towards the ground. He kinda wanted to hit the floor. It would hurt less than this night has. 

He closed his eyes, expecting the impact but it never came. Instead, he felt a set of large, familiar arms around him. He opened his eyes, meeting Auston’s. They looked back at his, shocked and concerned. Sober Mitch would’ve been fine with this outcome, even happy. He’d finally been getting the attention he wanted from Auston. But, he was currently not sober Mitch. He immediately got pissed because out of all the times Auston could have saved him on this crappy night, he chooses the time where Mitch didn’t actually want to be saved. 

Mitch frantically tried to shove his way out of Auston’s arms.

“Hey, hey, hey. Slow down, bud.” Auston scrambled to keep his hands on Mitch.

“Let go a me,” Mitch slurred, awkwardly trying to fight his way out of Auston’s arms. He tried to stand upright and continue on to the bathroom but it was no use. Auston had a strong grip around him, almost suffocating.

“Let’s sit down Mitchy,” Auston guided him to the corner booth. Auston’s female friend was still there, staring at him with wide eyes. Mitch glared. And Auston seems to notice. 

“Can you give us a minute?” Auston laughed weakly. 

“I actually have to go anyway. My friend’s here to pick me up.”

“Oh well okay! Have a nice night. I’ll let you know the next time I’m in DC!”

“Yeah sure okay…” The girl grimaces as she scurries for the door.

Auston’s head sunk. “Great… just great. Thanks for that one Mitch.”

“Fuck youuu. I dint ask you to catch me.” Mitch was slouched deep in the booth, almost laying down, eyes heavy-lidded. It was now dawning on him that he should have stopped at least two drinks ago. He was already feeling like shit.

“Welp,” Auston slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up from the booth. “I don’t really wanna stay any longer if you’re gonna act like this. C’mon. Let’s get you back to the hotel,” Auston said. He already seemed exasperated by Mitch’s antics. He bent down into the booth to help Mitch up. “C’mon bud up we go.”

“No, leave me alooooneeee,” Mitch let his body go limp in an effort to make this as difficult as he possibly could for Auston.

“Jesus Christ… Mitch, seriously?” Auston’s nostrils flared, voice dramatically rising in volume. His eyes shot daggers at him. The bar got quiet and people were starting to stare. “You’re really gonna act like this? Fine, you know what, I’m just gonna leave you here. Wake up in this booth covered in your own piss and vomit for all I care. See you back at the room, if you make it back.” Auston gave him one last hard stare and walked out the door, presumably to a waiting Uber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mitch fucked up. Royally. He was stumbling along some street in DC by himself, trying to find the hotel. Nothing looked familiar. He had no idea where he was, what time it was, or where his phone was. At least the rain had stopped.

And he missed Auston. A lot. He wanted to be in that warm hotel bed, wrapped in his arms. Cuddling was another part of their routine. They always started in separate beds, watching some tv. Then, one of them would find an excuse. 

“It’s too cold in the room.” 

“I heard a weird noise.”

“That game sucked.”

“I’m sad.”

Whoever complained would end up with the other one in their bed with their arms wrapped around them. Then, they would just whisper secrets and stories into each others’ chests for a while, shielding each other from all of their worries, until they both drifted off to sleep.

Mitch wanted nothing more than to be there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He found a bench a few blocks later and decided to sit down. The alcohol and the tears that had started to well in his eyes again made it hard for him to see straight. He was quiet for a moment. He had no idea what to do, completely out of ideas. He was defeated.

So he just put his head in his hands and cried for what felt like hours. 

(But, in reality, it was only a few minutes.)

His pity party was interrupted by car lights and the sound of tires splashing through puddles. He didn’t want to look up, in fear of what he might see. Cops, kidnappers, Coach? The possibilities were terrifying. He really didn’t want to face the consequences of this shitty evening.

“Mitch, fuck, finally, there you are.”

It wasn’t the cops, or kidnappers, or even Coach.

It was Auston.

Mitch peeled his hands away from his face slowly, not wanting to look his best friend in the eye. He had really embarrassed both of them tonight.

“Mitchy, get in the taxi, please. We gotta get you home.” The car door swung open. Mitch felt the heat from the car spill out over onto the sidewalk. It was more than inviting, after being in the cold, damp night without his jacket for too long. He stumbled through the door, collapsing into Auston

“There ya go,” Auston took him into his arms. His body heat was intoxicating. Mitch took a deep breath, surrounding himself in that heat and the smell of Auston’s body wash. “Ok, back to the Embassy Suites, please,” He directed to the taxi driver. The rest of the ride was quiet. All you could hear was the sounds of the city passing and Mitch’s quiet sobs into Auston’s chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They made their way back to their room in silence, Mitch leaning onto Auston for much-needed support. Once they were inside, Auston laid Mitch down on his bed and started to help him take off his shoes and socks. Even through his now only slightly tipsy haze, this got Mitch’s attention, his cheeks quickly turning pink. 

“I got it, I got it,” Mitch shot upright and shooed Auston’s hands away, “You’ve helped me enough tonight.”

Auston looked up from where he was kneeling beside the bed, worry in his eyes. “Are you sure? You still seem kinda fucked up.”

“Yeah, I promise. I’m sure a shower will help.”

“Do you need me to like, keep lookout to make sure you don’t slip and fall and bleed out on the bathroom floor?”

Mitch was sure his cheeks were on fire now. “Yeah, I’m all good. I promise. Just go to bed. I’ve kept you up for too long.” Mitch pushed himself up and off of the bed and towards the direction of the bathroom, really trying hard not to stumble to prove he was all good to Auston. But, he really was not, and not just in the drunk sense. Emotionally, he was wrecked too. 

He stared at himself in the bathroom mirror for a while, not really recognizing the drowsy, red eyes and pale face looking back at him. The bathroom felt how he felt. White tile and walls were sterile, cold, and distant. The harsh led lights from the mirror felt more blinding than a new sheet of bright white ice. The bathroom felt like it was trying to consume him, as were his feelings of guilt and embarrassment. He just wanted to crawl under the counter and hide from it all.

He slinked out of his clothes, turned the shower handle, and stepped under the cold water, not waiting for it to heat up. 

_ Why did this night have to go like this? _

_ How did Auston know where he was? _

_ Why did he come to get him? _

_ Is everything going to be different now? _

_ Was he going to lose his best friend? _

_ All because he can’t tell him how he actually feels about him? _

Tears were mixing with the water running down his face. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While the shower did help Mitch get back to feeling a sense of sobriety, it did not help him answer any of his questions. The room was only lit by the tv when Mitch came out of the bathroom. It cast some light onto Auston’s frame that was facing away from him, slowly rising and falling with each deep breath. He looked like he was asleep. Mitch’s heart sank as he climbed into bed and settled under the covers. The clock showed 1:07 in those dark red numbers, telling him to sleep, but he knew he wasn’t going to for a while. He needed to know. Laying on his back, his brain still racked those questions from the shower. They were itching and burning in his throat. He needed an answer.

“Aus?” He broke the silence.

“Mitch?”

“Why’d you come find me?” Mitch quietly choked out. His emotions were starting to escape all at once.

“Do I even need a reason?... I guess, if you really need one though, I was getting worried.” Auston stopped. “And you’re my best friend. Best friends don’t just leave their other best friend to freeze on the streets of DC. So I just called a taxi and went looking,” he added quietly.

“But you seemed so pissed at the bar. I thought this was the last straw and that you were never gonna talk to me again, especially after I messed up your night with your... lady friend.” Mitch tried really hard not to sound jealous but he had a feeling he let some slip out with the words “lady friend”.

Auston didn’t answer for a while, causing Mitch to panic. His heartbeat was thumping through his ears. The silence was broken up by Auston’s sheets rustling and the creaking of his bed springs as he sat up.

“Scoot over,” Auston commanded as he made his way to Mitch’s bed. Mitch obeyed and pulled up the covers and shuffled over, creating a spot for Auston. Auston climbed in and faced Mitch, intently staring at him. Mitch tried his hardest to avoid his gaze, his eyes darting to every possible spot but those deep brown eyes.

“I should’ve believed Freddie and Willy and Mo when they said you seemed upset. I’m sorry for getting mad at you. I really am. I promise I do actually really care about you, like a lot, even with what I said tonight. I’ve just been feeling really… confused and frustrated lately,” Auston said. Even as dark as it was in the room, his eyes were bright with help from the light of the tv. They were trying to tell Mitch something, but he couldn’t figure it out.

“You really shouldn’t be the one apologizing. Like I said, I’m the one who ruined your night. You seemed like you were having a lot of fun. And about how you’re feeling, I’m always here to talk bud… That girl was cute by the way.”

“She wasn’t really the one I wanted to spend my night with though,” Auston mumbled, barely above a whisper, as he scooted closer towards Mitch. His eyes had lost their light but were as intense as ever.

“Wait, what?” Mitch’s eyes went wide. Suddenly, he was feeling soberer than a judge.

“I think you heard me.”

Auston closed the minimal distance left between them with a deep kiss. 

Mitch’s brain lit up as he leaned into the kiss. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He thought for sure that after tonight, Auston would hate him. But, he now guessed that he was proven wrong.

Mitch was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn’t notice Auston’s mouth moving down his jawline and neck, quickly pulling him back to the task at hand. 

“Fuck, Mitch,” Auston breathed out as he peppered kisses down Mitch’s neck, finding his collarbone to suck on. Mitch let out a sigh and stared up at the opposite wall. He could still not believe that this was happening. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had just abandoned their shirts when Auston’s rough hands got busy exploring Mitch’s chest. Suddenly, he grabbed Mitch’s waist, lifting him up and over so Mitch was on top, their mouths never separating. Mitch’s new position gave him some leverage to take this situation into his own hands. While Auston made his way down his neck again, Mitch palmed Auston through his sweatpants, checking to see if he was getting hard too. And fuck, he already was. Mitch started making small circles with his hips, trying to get some friction going between them. Auston let go of a strangled moan against his skin. Mitch took this as a sign to go further. And so he did, reaching for the waistband of Auston’s sweatpants. Auston’s hand shot down and met his, pulling it back.

“Wait, wait… Mitchy, fuck,” Auston’s breath was labored. He threw his head back and closed his eyes, exposing his neck. “Sorry, I’m too close. I wanna keep going, like so so so bad. But, if you touch me like that, I’m gonna be spent.” And from what Mitch saw, he wasn’t lying. His pupils were blown wide, eyes starting to get a glazey look. His hair was sticking to his forehead but also out in every direction. Red splotches traveled from his cheeks, down his neck, and over his chest. A lazy, half-grin assured Mitch everything was alright though.

Mitch would be lying if he said that wasn’t one of the hottest things he’s ever seen.

“Jesus Matts, you really got the hots for me, huh?” Mitch looked down and gave him a smirk.

“Dude, I’ve been like, embarrassingly hard since we got back to the room. You kept rubbing your ass on my dick while we were walking up here.”

Mitch suddenly felt embarrassed, eyes shooting wide and a blush was rising up from his neck to his face.

“Oh God, sorry. I really didn’t mean to do that. I just-”

“Hey it’s okay,” Auston scooted up the bed to a sort of sitting position and reached up to cup Mitch’s face “I mean, I guess it’s kinda obvious but I didn’t mind it that much.” Auston gave him a suggestive wink.

“Oh my God...” Mitch gave him a dramatic eye roll back and blushed even harder, his heart swelling because of the dumbass under him. They locked eyes and burst into laughter, both of them seeming to be in disbelief that all of this was actually happening.

As the laughter died down, they sighed and locked eyes again. Suddenly, the air shifted, becoming supercharged, like they were on the precipice of some unknown, exciting journey. Whatever was going to happen in those next few moments seemed to be bound to change their dynamic. But it was up to them to decide how.

“So… how long?” Auston asked.

Mitch didn’t even need the rest of the sentence to know what he was asking.

“Since that first day at training camp.”

“When I broke the glass off of your pass.”

“Exactly.”

Auston beamed up at Mitch, giving him one of those looks from the balcony. And finally assuring him that Auston had always felt that way too.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!!


End file.
